Grüne on the economy

The Greens want to review all state funding programs and align them with topics such as climate protection, digitalization and resource conservation. The state is also to buy in an environmentally friendly way, and COVID aid is to continue as needed.

The state gives funding money to companies. The Greens want this money to go mainly to climate protection and digital projects. The state itself should buy eco-friendly goods. Companies in trouble should keep getting COVID aid.

All state programs are to be evaluated for their future impact. Funding is to go mainly to innovations for climate neutrality that create well-paid jobs. A practical guide is to make the state's public procurement environmentally friendly. Businesses and investors are to get planning certainty through rules that stay in place long term. The party wants to continue, together with the federal government, the economic aid for firms and solo self-employed people hit by the pandemic.

The Greens want the state to keep co-financing EU funding programs. The money is to go more strongly to projects that serve climate protection and the energy transition. State funding for projects that run counter to climate and sustainability goals is to end.

Schleswig-Holstein gets money from the EU and the federal government. The Greens want to keep paying the state's share. More of the money should go to climate protection. Projects that harm the climate should get no funding.

The platform names the regional fund EFRE, the agricultural fund ELER and the social fund ESF as important EU programs. The state is to keep providing the money needed to continue and co-finance them. State funding programs are also to focus on training skilled workers and securing jobs. Small and young companies are to get help developing a corporate responsibility concept. In return, funding is to depend on companies taking into account how their business affects sustainable development.

The Greens want Schleswig-Holstein to remain one of Germany's leading states for new businesses. Access to funding is to become easier, and programs and networks for founders are to grow. The path from university to starting a company is also to be made easier.

The Greens want to help people who start a company. Getting funding should be easier. There should be more programs and networks for founders. Universities should also offer more help for new companies.

The start date for funding is to become more flexible, because many state programs no longer apply once a company has already been founded at the time of application. Accelerator programs, which give growing business ideas professional guidance, are to be expanded statewide. The WeStartup SH network for women founders and the Meister*innengründungsprämie (a startup bonus for master craftspeople) are to be strengthened. Startup zones at universities and a fund for patent costs are planned. The Greens also want to press the federal government and the EU to cut red tape for the first months after founding.

The Greens want to fund and carry out the state's strategy for social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Existing funding programs are to be opened to social enterprises. The platform sees such business models as a chance to tackle major social changes and create good jobs.

Some companies mainly want to solve problems in society. The Greens want to support these companies. They should be able to get money from state programs. A new academy and a new agency are to help.

According to the platform, Schleswig-Holstein will become the first German state with a social innovation and social entrepreneurship strategy in early 2022. Money is to be made available in the coming term to carry it out. A Social Innovation Academy is to advance research and teaching on the subject. A Social Innovation Agency is to fund, advise and connect people, initiatives and companies. The strategy is to be evaluated and updated during the term.

The Greens want to make Schleswig-Holstein an important location for developing video games. A dedicated funding framework is to be created for this. The cultural and creative industries are to be strengthened through a participatory process.

The Greens want to support companies that make video games. There should be a special funding program for them. Cultural and creative businesses should also become stronger. The people affected should have a say.

The platform names degree programs in computer science, art and graphic design and good fiber-optic coverage as local advantages; both are to be secured and developed further. The new funding framework is to support prototype development and the scaling of business models. The Greens see the cultural and creative industries as a source of ideas for digitalization, social participation and sustainability. The platform notes that the cultural sector was hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Greens give businesses an investment pledge for public infrastructure. New companies are to be able to settle in the state without sealing much additional land. To that end, municipalities are to get support for recycling previously used land.

The Greens want to keep spending on rail, roads and fast internet. Universities and hospitals are to be renovated too. New companies should use old sites where possible. That way less new land gets built on.

The work of clearing the renovation backlog, begun under the IMPULS program, is to continue. Investment is to go into expanding and electrifying rail, fiber-optic connections, state roads, universities and hospitals. The state is to provide money for cleaning up contaminated sites. Together with municipalities, a statewide database of commercial land is to be built to show supply and demand and allow more targeted business settlement. In the medium term, this is meant to make commercial land development more sustainable.

The Greens want economic policy to focus more on small companies and to support them with innovation and change. Help is planned for research and development, digitalization and business succession. Industry and cluster strategies are to be realigned.

Schleswig-Holstein has many small and mid-sized companies. The Greens want to help them with new ideas and digital tools. Many companies need someone to take over from the owner. A campaign is planned for this.

Funding for innovation assistants is to be extended to established companies, clusters and technology centers; transfer structures modeled on TransMarTech are to be set up in other industries. The DiWiSH cluster and the Mittelstand 4.0 competence center are to continue, the digital bonus too if possible, and a funding program for digital assistants is planned. According to the platform, only 9 percent of companies facing a handover in the next ten years have arranged it; the existing tools are to be evaluated and joined by a succession campaign. Entrepreneurship education in schools is to continue. The state's advisory council for mid-sized businesses is to stay and become more diverse in its membership.

The Greens want to close the skilled-worker gap in the skilled trades, arguing that climate protection can only succeed with them. A program for climate-protection workers and a training drive are planned. Access to trade occupations is to become easier for more groups and for career changers.

The skilled trades need more trained workers. The Greens say climate protection will not work without them. So there is to be a program for training and retraining. More women and queer people should also work in the trades.

Schools and trade businesses are to cooperate more closely on career guidance, and apprenticeships and dual study programs in the trades are to become more attractive to high school graduates as well. To address the gender imbalance, networking, visibility and advice for women and for inter, non-binary and trans people are to be expanded. The Greens want to examine whether the Handwerksordnung (the trades code) can be made more permeable and modular. In some fields, such as repair services, self-employment is to be possible in principle without a multi-year apprenticeship. The startup bonus for master craftspeople is to continue, and businesses are to keep receiving state support for integration.

The Greens want to develop Schleswig-Holstein as a green industrial location and rewrite the state's industrial strategy for that purpose. The platform sees the supply of renewable energy as a local advantage. New industrial settlements are to be supported with higher loan guarantees and infrastructure.

Schleswig-Holstein has a lot of power from wind and sun. The Greens want to use this to attract more industry. The state is to rewrite its plan for industry. New companies should get help, such as rail lines and fast internet.

The new strategy is to be clearly oriented toward the climate crisis and the energy transition and to take the EU's Green Deal as its guide. Existing industrial companies are to be supported on the way to climate-friendly production. The state is to add a higher guarantee amount to the federal loan guarantee program for large settlements so it can compete with other states. Large settlements, especially from the energy transition sector, are to be backed by investment in rail and fiber optics. The location is also to be promoted internationally.

The Greens want to make Schleswig-Holstein the world's leading innovation hub for zero-emission shipping. To that end, innovation is to be supported together with researchers and the renewable energy sector. Shipyards are to be strengthened through more public contracts.

In the future, ships should no longer give off exhaust. The Greens want Schleswig-Holstein to lead in this field. They want to support new technology. Shipyards in the state should also get more orders.

The platform describes the shipyards as under heavy economic pressure. The Greens back the federal coalition's plan to classify surface shipbuilding as a key technology so that more contracts go to shipyards in the state. A dialogue on the future is to be started with the maritime industry. Besides zero emissions, it is to cover technologies such as autonomous navigation.

For the Greens, sustainable business means something other than growth. The goal of economic policy and business support is to be sustainable prosperity for everyone in the state. They also want to examine where post-growth economic approaches are suitable.

The Greens say the economy is about more than growth. Everyone in the state should be able to live well in the long run. That is to be the goal of economic policy. The Greens want to check where the economy can work well without growth.

Post-growth economics refers to economic models meant to work without constant growth. The Greens want to study in which areas such approaches fit. In addition, standards of eco-efficiency, eco-effectiveness and eco-sufficiency are to be expanded further. Sustainable prosperity is to be the yardstick for business support.

The Greens welcome the federal Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (supply chain due diligence act) but consider it insufficient. They want to push for more effective rules at the federal and EU levels.

Companies buy goods and parts in many countries. A law requires them to watch for fair conditions. The Greens say this law is not enough. They want stricter rules in Germany and in the EU.

The supply chain due diligence act requires companies to make sure certain standards are met by their suppliers. The platform notes that a similar rule is being prepared at EU level. The Greens in Schleswig-Holstein want to work toward a more effective law at both levels.

The Greens see tourism as a key pillar of the state's economy and want to realign its strategy with the industry around sustainability. They regard intact nature and landscape as the basis of future tourism.

Many people vacation in Schleswig-Holstein. The Greens want vacations to be gentle on nature. Motor boats should run on electricity. Workers in hotels and restaurants should get fair pay.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are to be anchored in the tourism industry, and the carbon footprint of vacation travel, day trips and large events is to be assessed. The platform names climate-friendly mobility with good public transit, regional economic cycles and less plastic waste as tools. Motorized water sports are to switch to electric propulsion to cut noise and protect ecosystems. Inland, climate-themed educational tourism, regional products, country inns, and cycling, hiking and horseback tourism are to be supported; training courses and tourism research will receive funding.

The Greens want to help municipalities draw up plans that assess how much tourism a place can carry. Together with municipalities, they also want to steer day-trip traffic better so that towns and sensitive natural areas are not overwhelmed.

Many towns on the coast are very crowded. The Greens want to help towns plan. Towns should check how much tourism they can handle. Traffic should also be guided better.

The program justifies this by pointing to the sharp rise in vacation homes, second homes and hotels in many coastal towns, some of which it says have permanently exceeded their capacity. Whether more tourist offerings can be absorbed could be determined through continuous monitoring. For day visitors, the program mentions apps that show how busy a place is and thereby cut down on traffic from people searching for a spot.

The Greens want to draw up a long-term state strategy for inclusive tourism with the involvement of advocacy groups. Natural and cultural sites should be as barrier-free as possible. The state should also reach out more deliberately to queer travelers.

All people should be able to vacation in Schleswig-Holstein. The Greens want a long-term plan for this. Paths to the beach should have no barriers. The state should also invite more queer guests.

As examples of barrier-free access, the program mentions beach walking paths and mobility aids made available on site. The state is to join the federal program "Reisen für Alle" (Travel for All), which includes a database of accessible offerings. The Greens will also look into the state joining the international LGBTQ+ travel association, for example to market queer events.

The Greens want to change the state's procurement law so that public contracts minimize negative impacts and take costs over the full life cycle into account. The state is to lead on due diligence obligations in supply chains.

The state buys many things and awards contracts. The Greens want new rules for this. The state should look at the environment and fair work. It should also look at costs over the whole time of use.

The platform cites construction and IT projects as well as purchases of office supplies and work clothing by the state and municipalities. In the Greens' view, such decisions affect sustainable business practices. Life-cycle costs are to be considered routinely when awarding contracts. The procurement rules are to be adapted so that fair, social and ecological conditions are observed along the entire supply chain.

The Greens want to tie public contracts to paying wages set by collective agreements or wages modeled on them. Climate impact and human rights are to be minimum standards for every public contract. An ombuds office would follow up on reports of violations.

The state and towns give contracts to companies. The Greens want new rules for this. Companies should pay wages set by union agreements. They should respect the climate and human rights. A new office should check for rule-breaking.

Public contracts would come with a duty to pay collectively agreed wages or wages modeled on such agreements. Climate impact and human rights compliance would become minimum requirements for all public procurement. The party wants to examine whether regional value creation can serve as an award criterion to strengthen local economic cycles. The existing advisory office for sustainable procurement would be continued and expanded. A new ombuds office would look into contract breaches and report them to municipalities so that companies can be excluded from future contracts.